The inaugural race took place on 5 October 1997 as the "Ford Cologne Marathon" (German: Ford Köln-Marathon) with at least 13,000 registered runners, a world record for inaugural marathons at the time.

[1][2] The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with all registrants given the option of obtaining a refund (minus an administration fee).

They start ahead of the runners and try to finish the course in the time limit for skaters, which is 2:30 hours.

In the last years it has been more and more difficult to utilize the starting field because of diverse interests.

To countervail, the management of the marathon created new events and contests, which all take place at the same course on the same day.